Corruption Elimination Strategy for Pakistan

CSS Current Affairs 2019 Question: How corruption elimination strategy can be made part of the governance system of Pakistan?

Pakistan has combated corruption since its birth. Corruption has put a very far-reaching impact at the domestic level, which has projected a bad reputation in the world. In a corrupt society, people do not report violence & crimes & they are doubtful of exclusion of real justice.

White-collar Crimes

Panama & Bahamas leaks show that enigma in the world’s financial system is a hindrance in the path of fighting corruption. Leaks exposed some burglars among our elite that have enriched themselves at the expense of the public.

NAB And Corruption

NAB – which labels itself as the main crusader against corruption – is unintentionally promoting corruption through its appeal bargain & voluntary return schemes. There is a limited risk & more benefit for officials in accepting corrupt practices. Many among the corrupt officials were recently cleared of charges against them when they struck bargain deals with NAB.

Also Read: Corruption is the mother of all evils in our society

Corruption Elimination Strategy

The strategy of fighting corruption has little chance of success if it is empty of moral dimensions. Unfortunately, moral values & norms in our society have changed negatively over the past decades. Money & its accumulation have attained the highest priority as everything can be purchased. Elimination Strategy is one of the toughest & cannot be rooted out in one big sweep. Abolishing corruption is a difficult task & should be tackled by the government in a spirited manner.

Part of the Governance System

Principles of open government should be adopted where every citizen has the right to get access to information & officials are accountable to the public. Press & personal freedom & independent judiciary are essential to tackle corruption. Grand corruption – which is committed at a high level & involves the manipulation of national policies for private gains – should be made punishable with prolonged imprisonment & heavy fines. Powerful contact among the stakeholders should be established & formal means of communication need to be minimized so that decision is accelerated. This would suppress corrupt practices.

Producing Transparency in Government

Although there is no silver bullet for fighting corruption, Transparency is very important to eliminate corruption. It will help ensure that officials, civil servants & businessmen execute their responsibilities publically, & build trust in the state & strengthen democracy. The Government should make use of modern technology & put an end to red-tapism.

Empower Citizens

Strengthening citizen’s demand for anti-corruption & empowering them to hold government accountable is an approach that helps to build mutual trust between citizens & government.

Writing-off of Loans

One of the biggest sources of corruption in Pakistan is the writing-off of loans. It should be prohibited by making legislation. Any amount exceeding a certain limit should be referred to the Supreme Court before it could be allowed. The Only way out for defaulters of heavy loans should be selling out of their property or jailed till they refund the money. All avenues of moving out public money should be blocked.

Conclusion

The Biggest hurdle in fighting corruption is the political advantage of the government. The government gets blackmailed on this account by ministers to accrue the illegal benefits & get freedom from prosecution. This is the reason why all anti-corruption mechanisms have failed in Pakistan including NAB. It is really a fantastic task to ask a political government not to be pressurized by corrupt people in the ruling party; however, a start can be made in this direction.

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